Charles Church makes 'Dreams Come True' for sick children
Dreams Come True, a charity which brings joy to terminally and seriously ill children by fulfilling their dreams, has announced its largest corporate partner, luxury homebuilder Charles Church, has raised in excess of £600,000 for the organisation.
During the eight year period Dreams Come True and Charles Church have worked together, employees at the leading housebuilder have undertaken a number of fundraising challenges to help reach this milestone figure and boost the charity’s much needed funds. These include parachute jumps, participation in the Dreams Come True Dream Mile, involvement with endurance expeditions and auctions, as well as numerous office and site based initiatives.
Peter Newman, chief executive for Dreams Come True, highlights how Charles Church’s support has enabled hundreds of children to realise their dreams. He states: “On average it costs £2,000 to make a child’s dream come true, so Charles Church’s valuable contributions over the years have enabled us to fulfil 300 magical dreams for several of our brave and deserving youngsters.
“We are very much honoured and thrilled to partner with Charles Church, and would like to thank the company and all the staff for being our greatest business partner by raising the most money for dreams children.”
Charles Church’s 300th dream has just been realised in Wakefield. 17 year old Emma Jones who was diagnosed with a bone tumour, Ewing’s Sarcoma, in her pelvis and lungs dreamed of converting a small outhouse at her home into a room of her own where she could spend time with her friends and forget about her illness and the gruelling treatments which she has to endure.
Dreams Come True was told about Emma’s dream by a family friend and Charles Church stepped in to make Emma’s dream come true. She’s now enjoying her specially designed personal space, which provides a living area that she can socialise in with her friends as well as a private space she can retreat to for time on her own.
Emma’s mum Tracey has been overwhelmed by the input Emma has been able to have in the building’s new features, with Charles Church Yorkshire’s managing director Wayne Gradwell taking notes of her requirements when he first visited the family to determine what making Emma’s dream come true would entail.
Tracey says: “We are so grateful and so thankful to both the charity and Charles Church for helping to make Emma’s dream a reality. We call Emma’s outhouse the ‘bottom room’ and often spend time in there as a family with Emma when she hasn’t got her friends round. It has also given Emma the space she has needed when she has just wanted to get away from everything, and relax by watching a DVD.
“I think one of the greatest changes is the fact that they insulated the room, which won’t just be good for Emma but also for me as it can cost more £20 a week in gas alone to heat it when the days are cold.”
Dominic Harman, group communications director for Charles Church, says: “Dreams Come True does such an amazing job in bringing joy and happiness to the lives of terminally and seriously ill children and their families, so it’s heartening to know that our commitment has made such a significant difference to a great many admirable youngsters.
“Knowing that we’ve been able to support and even brighten their lives during what must be a troubling and often painful time makes our efforts so worthwhile, and we are looking forward to a number of further fundraising activities to help make even more wonderful dreams come true.”
For further information about Dreams Come True, visit the charity’s website at: dctc.org.uk
